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Local Sweden
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Local Sweden
Summer like a Swede: Discover Sweden's cultural highlights by train
Sweden's long summer days allow you to pack in plenty, making it the perfect time to explore your adopted home and dive deeper into Sweden's culture. But what exactly is Swedishness? It's a question the government set out to answer this year, inviting suggestions from the Swedish public for a 'cultural canon ': a list of activities, sights, and concepts that all contribute to what it means to be 'Swedish'. Train company SJ has matched these ideas to the destinations where you can try them out, so we've picked some of the best spots across the country – all accessible by train – to help you plan your summer. Ready to explore Sweden? Click here to see SJ's routes and book your trip Thank you for the music As everyone's favourite foursome asked, without a song or dance, who are we? And as much as we love ABBA, the country has much more to offer when it comes to music. Each summer, the capital Stockholm plays host to one of Europe's most unique concert series. Theme park Gröna Lund , an institution in its own right, sets the stage for Sweden's 'longest festival' with different artists playing between May and September. In 2025, alongside global names such as Alanis Morisette and Manic Street Preachers, you'll find the likes of Miriam Bryant, Veronica Maggio and Victor Leksell who sing primarily in Swedish – this has to be the most fun way to fit in language practice over the summer. From central Stockholm, you can arrive by commuter boat or by tram, and spend the day trying out the rides before finding your spot in the crowd. Gröna Lund, the home to Sweden's 'longest festival' Another festival with a distinctly Swedish flavour is Gothenburg's Way Out West (August 7-9). With Chappell Roan, Charli XCX, and Swedish band Kite headlining, the international line-up covers a range of genres, and the multi-day tickets allow you to leave and re-enter the festival area, allowing you to explore Sweden's second largest city between your favourite acts. The event wears its eco-friendly credentials proudly, with an all-vegetarian food offering and a policy of using secondhand clothing for staff uniforms and upcycled merch. If you're travelling from Stockholm, consider booking the official festival train to get the party started en route! DJ keeping the vibes going at Way Out West. Looking for something at the more traditional end of the spectrum? Swedish folk dance and music is an entry on the cultural canon that you can experience in Hälsingland, central eastern Sweden. It's a custom with a dark legend attached. The story goes that in one village, Hårga, a local dance was interrupted by a mysterious visitor playing mesmerising tunes on the fiddle. Spoiler alert: he was the devil in disguise. Once people started dancing to his tune, they found they couldn't stop, and danced until all that was left were their skeletons.. Visitors will easily understand how Hälsingland sparked storytellers' imaginations: this off-the-beaten-path region boasts more forest than anywhere else in the country, and you'll find fairytale-esque landscapes around the Ljusnan River and its surrounding beaches, and when walking through the rolling hills – including Hårgaberget, site of the mythical devil's dance. Swedish folk dance Today, the legend has inspired an all-day dancing event, the Hälsingehambo, which starts in Hårga itself and moves through local villages. This year, it marks its 60th anniversary. There are other events in the region devoted to folk dance and music, including the two-day Delsbostämman festival in early July which features a range of performances. Get out there! Start planning your route with SJ and see Sweden like never before Add Swedish flavour to your summer Sometimes the simplest delicacies are the finest, and so it is with the humble hot dog or grillkorv . While these can be sampled at street-side stalls and corner shops the length and breadth of the country, why not elevate the experience? To truly experience Swedish culture, you need to grill the sausage yourself over an open fire, and do it while surrounded by breathtaking natural scenery. Take the train to Abisko to experience some of the most stunning views possible from a train window. There are a wide range of scenic walking routes that feature barbecue spots (do check that you're using one of the designated areas; lighting a fire is only allowed in certain spots). One recommendation: the mountain hut at Lake Abiskojaure, which you can reach by following a moderate trail along the Abiskojåkka River. Another classic food is tunnbröd or Swedish flatbread. It's particularly popular in the central region of Dalarna, where you can work up an appetite with a day of walking along trails where you'll see waterfalls and can stop for a swim in the lakes. Round off the day with a hearty meal highlighting local ingredients, including tunnbröd baked in a wood-fired oven. It can be eaten with savoury fillings like salmon, or something sweeter like berry-filled jams. Tunnbröd and Falafel are popular food options in Sweden These days, Swedish culinary culture also reflects the growing diversity of the population, and is all the better for it. Malmö can probably lay claim to the title of the top spot in the Nordics for falafel , with the highest concentration of restaurants and stalls around Möllevångstorget. Try Jalla Jalla, which featured in classic Scandi crime series The Bridge and is near the police station also recognisable from the show. Like the grillkorv, falafel is best enjoyed with a view – Jalla Jalla is just a short walk from Sweden's oldest public park, Folkets Park. Whatever the final destination, you can begin your culinary journey on the train itself, with SJ's bistro serving up classics like shrimp sandwiches and cinnamon buns. Experience Sweden by train this summer Embrace the outdoor lifestyle The long summer days beg to be spent out in nature, and one entry to the cultural canon is simply, 'a forest walk with a thermos and cheese sandwich'. More than two thirds of Sweden is forested, so you're spoilt for choice with locations. To take on a classic Swedish hiking route, consider a section of the Kinnekulle trail (start from Råbäck station, near Lidköping), or part of island-hopping hike Kuststigen (the Coastal Path) beginning from Hönö in Gothenburg's archipelago. For Swedes, outdoor swimming can be a year-round pastime, best combined with a quick dash to the sauna. For the uninitiated, summer is the time to dip your toe, then your whole body, in this crucial part of Scandi culture. Try out the kallbadshus (literally 'cold bath house') where you dash between open-air pools and saunas. Two of the most historic spots in the country can be found in Varberg, southwestern Sweden, and Ribersborg in Malmö, both just a short walk from the train station. Friluftsliv and kobingo are a unique ways to enjoy a summer in Sweden Our final suggestion for your summer bucket list is perhaps the quirkiest of the list: kobingo (cow bingo). Hosted at farms around the country, it's a rural tradition where fields are divided into a numbered grid, cows are released, and the square where the first cow poops is the winner. Take a look to see if any of the farms in your local area might be hosting it. Sweden's farms are an amazing day out for the family (don't forget to take advantage of SJ's family discounts for your train journey), with farm shops and restaurants, and chances to meet the animals. So there you have it: a selection of perfectly Swedish ways to fill those long summer days – and connect a little more deeply with the country in the process. Book your Swedish summer exploration with SJ today!
Local Sweden
25-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Local Sweden
'To become a citizen, you should know something about Sweden's values'
Trägårdh is in some ways a strange choice to lead an inquiry into how to build a list formalising Sweden's cultural heritage. He only returned to the country in 2010, after 40 years living and teaching in the US, and he prepared the ground for his return with a best-selling book, The Swedish Theory of Love, which was provocatively titled Är svensken människa? in Swedish, meaning "Are Swedes human?". He has always, he says, been ambivalent about Swedishness. "I fled Sweden when I was 17, so how much more ambivalent can you get?" he exclaims. "Sweden is a really extreme society, and in an interesting way, right?" The main thesis of his book is that the Swedish welfare state, frequently seen as a collectivist enterprise, in fact expresses an extreme individualism, and is aimed primarily at freeing individuals from reliance on dependence on relatives and friends. But his mixed feelings about Sweden, he says, do not diminish the importance he gives to citizens of the country understanding its culture and unwritten rules. "We have a lot of people today that are foreign-born in Sweden, ranging from expats, who are doing very well in terms of their jobs, to refugee migrants who are in a more difficult position," he says. "Everybody needs to understand this country to survive, to be successful and possibly even happy. And so you need a roadmap and a compass to manoeuvre in society. It doesn't mean that you have to like every bit, but you do have to understand how it works." Fostering that understanding is his main mission, he claims. "That's really what drives me, in my work as an historian, as a public intellectual, and in this job with the cultural canon." READ ALSO: What do we know about the plans for a future Swedish cultural canon? A broader canon When the proposal to develop a Swedish cultural canon was included in the Tidö Agreement between the far-right Sweden Democrats and the three government parties, the inspiration came from Denmark, where the canon comprises 108 works of cultural excellence in eight categories: architecture, visual arts, design and crafts, film, literature, music, performing arts, and children's culture. But Trägårdh has from the start pushed against this, favouring a broader concept that will also draw on fields like history and engineering. "I'm sure some of them are surprised by my take. But I did warn everybody to begin with that I'm not just your sort of regular guy who runs a commission," he grins. "I did offer the advice to think twice before they offered me this job." Lars Trägårdh at the press conference launching his inquiry into a new cultural canon. Photo: Henrik Montgomery/TT 'A story about who we are' The plan is now to split the canon into two parts. "We have what we call the two sectors of the Swedish cultural canon, one which is about the arts, and the other which is society." The way he sees it, a cultural canon is nothing new. Swedes had a strong sense of a common cultural heritage from the early 19th century right up until the mid-20th century, with the first state-run schools educating young Swedes about their shared background, and "bringing them up to be both Swedes but also citizens". "It was based on a story about who we are, who we were, and who we might become, and that stuff was really important for creating a society that was democratic, and also, unusually, high-trust." Advertisement It was only after the Second World War, he argues, that the ideologies of modernism, internationalism and multiculturalism started to take hold, leading to this shared cultural understanding being swept away. "This had tremendous positive effects, but it also meant there was a gaze away from history and from Swedish culture. Swedes became post-national and anti-nationalist. You can applaud that, but there is a loss involved." The impact, he argues, has not just been on Swedes' identity and a sense of belonging, but also on the integration of immigrants. "This happened to coincide with an explosion of immigration, so just at the moment when you needed some really good efforts at transmitting fundamental knowledge, that was all gone, and we're paying a price for that. Sweden has had a horrible time in terms of integrating newcomers to the country." READ ALSO: What books and art can we expect to be have in Sweden's cultural canon? Advertisement Citizenship tests Trägårdh wants the canon to counter this and hopes it will be drawn on for future citizenship tests, will influence the school curriculum, and will even feed into special education programmes for foreigners who come to Sweden. "Citizenship is a social contract," he argues. "If you're going to become a citizen, you should know something about the laws and the values of the country that you're becoming a citizen of." He insists however, that if the canon is used in future citizenship tests based the questions should be relatively easy, as they are in the US, and not "onerous", as he says the questions prospective citizens have to answer in France tend to be. "I think it is important that you learn something about the culture. That seems to me to be highly useful and hardly controversial, but I think the test should be more along American lines than French lines," he says. "The point is not to punish people, but to celebrate something that we all now have in common." He doesn't see including the canon in citizenship tests as in any way exclusionary. "Underlying all of this is [the idea] that citizenship needs to mean something. It's not like, 'I'm a citizen of five different countries. It just gives me an extra passport in case I lose the other one'. There's an element of a social contract. We belong in a country. We have responsibilities towards each other. "The social contract idea, centered around citizenship and some notion of society where we actually live together seems to me to be hardly scandalous or exclusionary," he continues. "On the contrary, it's a way to include people." Lars Trägårdh photographed outside a school in Södermalm, Stockholm. Photo: Judit Nilsson/SvD Angry minorities Two of the groups Trägårdh has managed to anger since he was appointed to lead the inquiry last spring are indigenous minorities such as the Sami and Tornedalians, and immigrants to Sweden. After a meeting with Trägårdh in October, seven representatives of Sweden's five national minorities complained they had been informed that they would neither be given positions among the two expert groups who will decide on the two canons, nor any influence over the contents. "I have no gräddfil [ literally "sour cream", but meaning "special treatment" ] for either Tornedalians or Bandy fans," he told the Dagens Nyheter newspaper, indicating that he didn't see ethnic identity as having any greater significance than membership of an association around a sport like bandy, a variant of ice hockey. "People don't understand the extent of my respect for voluntary organisations, which is an absolutely important part of Swedish society," he protests when The Local accuses him of being provocative. "And if you're going to suggest that people don't have any identity connected to sports, think again. These things are important." Advertisement Marlen Eskander, an Iraqi-born member of the inquiry team, resigned in October claiming Trägårdh had not been open to her suggestions, one of which was to include the Epic of Gilgamesh, an ancient Babylonian epic, in the canon as a gesture to the heritage to Iraqis in Sweden. Both of these conflicts, Trägårdh argues, stem from his opposition to identify politics or ethnic nationalism of any form, describing himself instead as a "civic nationalist", or "citizenship universalist". "Diversity is a wonderful thing, particularly in a voluntary society. But we also actually do need to take seriously the need for a common 'we'," he argues. "I think ethnic nationalism is very deeply problematic. I was doing a double critique, both of the Sweden Democrats and of the Sami, because both of them are subscribing to forms of ethnic nationalism, and I don't think that's the way to go forward. The only thing that can unite us in a modern society like Sweden is citizenship." He dismisses the criticism that members of the two committees now deciding on the canon all have an ethnic Swedish background, saying that they had been selected on the basis of expertise alone. "We were not trying to achieve representation. We were trying to achieve actual knowledge, and particularly a broad knowledge that will allow you to think not about this group or that group." Advertisement Sweden Democrat backing for idea While the impetus for including the canon in the government's programme may have come from the Sweden Democrats, Trägårdh pushes back at the idea that it is a far-right project. "There are a lot of political anxieties around this commission. People who are from the left think of this as a kind of a conspiracy from the Sweden Democrats to eliminate all kinds of diversity." The reality, he argues, is that it builds on a long tradition of popular education, or folkbildning , in Sweden, culminating in the book Medborgarkunskap ("Civic Knowledge"), by the Social Democrat educationalist Värner Rydén, which was published in 1922. The Liberal Party, he says, has been campaigning for a cultural canon since 2006, long before the Sweden Democrats began to push for one. At any rate, he says, politicians have kept what in Sweden is called a "double arms-length distance" from the project, and there has been no attempt whatsoever to influence him. Advertisement So what happens next? The two committees now have until the summer to decide on their two lists, while Trägårdh himself will work on the inquiry's conclusions, which will include thoughts on the idea of a canon, comparisons to other countries' systems, and recommendations for how the canon should be used. The inquiry is due to deliver its report on August 31st and despite the project's tempestuous start, Trägårdh is in no doubt that he will deliver. "We'll be ready by the deadline. There's no question about that."
